The Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has clarified that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, will not abolish the National Service Scheme (NSS) if elected as president.
While announcing his vision for the country in Accra on Wednesday, Dr. Bawumia unveiled plans to make the service optional when he becomes president in the upcoming general elections.
Oppong Nkrumah assured Ghanaian youth seeking employment that they will not be denied jobs because they haven’t completed national service.
“NSS will stay, he’s not saying he’s going to abolish NSS. He’s saying that if you get a job, and you are being denied that job because you haven’t done the mandatory national service, he’s going to take that clause out. If you get a job and the employer is willing to take that job, the employer is not compelled to say that because you haven’t done national service, he should not give you the job. It does mean that this training and learning and growing of culture is gone, it’s still there. You will not be denied a job because you haven’t done national service,” he said .
The Ranking Member on the Education Committee of Parliament, Dr. Clement Apaak, says Bawumia’s proposal to make the one-year mandatory National Service optional will only create opportunities for bribery and corruption to flourish.
